Iran, Veiled Appearances

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Depicts clashes in modern Iran between extreme fundamentalism and young people who are pushing for social change, filming with soldiers, religious leaders, students, artists and intellectuals.

Iran has been presented for years as one of the cradles of Muslim fundamentalists, and more recently as a radical Muslim country on the brink of developing nuclear weapons. Iran intrigues the West on more than one account.

A college dormitory, a cemetery, a military academy, a drama class, a mosque... such are the places IRAN, VEILED APPEARANCES takes us. Iranians in their every-day life: soldiers, religious figures, young people, former soldiers, but also members of reforming movements, students, artists, or intellectuals who often pay a heavy price in their fight for freedom.

The film shows a culturally and socially fractured society, shows the country from many angles and created a multifaceted film, in image of a country where the religious fervour of some contrasts with the desire for freedom of others.

Revolution, violence and religious fanaticism; such are the images Iran has shown to the world for over two decades. Yet with all of today's sufferings, how could it be forgotten that Iran is one of the oldest nations in history?

Twenty-three years after the Islamic revolution, this country, once again prey to the turbulence of history, is taking the road towards modernity. Faced with a radical Islam advocated by religious orthodoxy, Iranian youth - eyes turned towards the West and exposed to the winds of globalisation - can no longer find its place in the religious revolution of its elders. Is the chador today nothing more than the last act of a theocracy threatened by the trend of globalisation? Is Islamic fundamentalism soluble in neo-liberalism?

IRAN, VEILED APPEARANCES looks equally at those convinced of a radical Islam and at those who aspire to more freedom. The Iranians, having confirmed their desire for change during the presidential elections, have been conned of their meagre conquests by the power of the most conservative Islamic fundamentalists. It is they who have firm control of the army, the courts and the media and who haven't hesitated to resort to political assassination and to shut off any freedom of speech.

The struggle has begun, and it is impossible today to predict how this desire for change, as expressed democratically by a large part of the Iranian population, will take a concrete form. The power of the Mullahs as well as the field of operation of the Islamic fundamentalist groups is considerable. Oppression of the reforming factions, under the mask of the cult of martyrs of the revolution, does exist.

Students, journalists, intellectuals, artists and even close associates of the reforming president Mohammed Khatami are subjected to political assassination, imprisonment, and psychological and physical torture. A true battle for freedom of expression is shaking the Iranian capital but it is impossible to predict the price that will have to be paid...

Also available in a 90 minute version

'A revelatory examination... Michel's access is remarkable, his insights pointed. The film, of course, couldn't be more timely.'-Newsday

'Ventur[es] into dangerous territory, looking for a reality that has little to do with the images to be found in the international press... What emerges is a film that gives a brief glimpse of the complexity of the social fabric in modern Iran, where a desire for modernism chafes against the bedrock of fundamentalism. A courageous film... careful to ground its observations on a realistic human scale.'-The Bulletin

'Compelling! Recommended! The testimony of the proponents of democratic reform who have suffered for their beliefs is poignant, and the scenes of their opponents preparing for further retaliatory action carry an ominous power.'-Video Librarian